A preview of the top novels of 2023

A preview of the top novels of 2023

AGRITA CHHIBBER

The best novels of 2023 have already been read by book enthusiasts, despite the fact that the year has only just begun.

There are fascinating works in the works, from a new Bret Easton Ellis to a lovely coming-of-age novel from Allegra Goodman.

And yes, we did include a book on our list that we haven’t finished.

Let’s just say that Prince Harry’s Spare is already one of the most talked-about novels of 2023, but hear us out as we specifically recommend it! Possibly not what you anticipate. We hope it continues to surprise and enthral readers, along with many other books.

The Shards by Brett Easton Ellis

Easton, Bret Less Than Zero, Ellis’s debut book, is difficult to put down.

It’s a hazy, ominous tale of Los Angeles private school kids with monosyllabic names (Clay, Blair, Trent, Rip) who go out, use drugs, engage in sex, and try to feel something about any of it.

Ellis’s fascinating, prolific, and terrifying new book, The Shards—his first in 13 years—is a portal back to the atmosphere of the early 1980s.

It features none other than Ellis, a prep school senior writing a book titled Less Than Zero while surrounded by a group of wealthy, attractive pals who are also being followed by a serial killer known only as the Trawler.

Through nearly 600 pages, Ellis is completely open: baroque brutality, shocking eroticism, and a constant list of song and movie names that correspond to various moods.

His gothic preferences may not be to everyone’s taste (the Trawler’s kills are horrifying), but he is great at conjuring up a particular kind of vacant privilege—a latent longing mixed with trained dissociation.

A Living Remedy, Nicole Chung

Nicole Chung,  wrote about her experiences growing up as a Korean American adoptee in a mostly white town in her first memoir.

In her follow-up book, A Living Remedy, she continues to explore her identity while concentrating on her sadness at the deaths of both of her parents. In 2018, Chung’s father passed away from diabetes and kidney illness.

Then, less than a year later, her mother receives a cancer diagnosis, and she later passes away as a result of the COVID-19 epidemic. In A Living Remedy, Chung examines the glaring injustices in American culture by detailing the difficulties her parents had in getting medical care while she grapples with these debilitating losses.

The end product is an emotional portrayal of a daughter coming to terms with her position in a fractured world.

King: A Life, Jonathan Eig

The first biography of Martin Luther King Jr. in many years is found in Jonathan Eig’s book.

It offers an intimate glimpse into the life of a man whose enormous achievements to American history are well known but whose emotional intricacies are less well understood, making it a refreshing depiction of King.

In order to paint a portrayal of the late activist that depicts the dynamic and flawed human that he was, Eig delves deeply into every aspect of his life, including King’s family history, his connection with his wife, and the challenges he faced from being so powerful at such a young age.

It offers a fresh perspective on the many underappreciated facets of King’s life and is a masterfully researched and wonderfully readable portrayal of a leader.

Our Share of Night, Mariana Enriquez

The strange and intriguing work by Argentine novelist Mariana Enriquez, recently translated into English by Megan McDowell, spans several decades and doesn’t belong in just one genre.

Our Share of Night is a supernatural horror film that alternates effortlessly between historical fiction and supernatural horror. It centres on Juan and Gaspar, a father and son who are mourning Rosario, the wife and mother they recently lost in a car accident.

They are also running from the brutal cult from which Rosario descended, which makes everything more difficult.

Gaspar has acquired abilities that would make him a great tool to the cult, better known as the Order, which will do almost everything to gain immortality. Our Share of Night presents an engrossing look into a complex period of Argentine history against a terrifying, fantastical world.

The Wager, David Grann

A British ship known as His Majesty’s Ship the Wager sailed from England in 1740 with the goal of capturing a Spanish galleon.

However, the Wager capsized close to Patagonia’s coast, and those who survived faced famine and hardship for months. At least, that’s what the 30 sailors who survived told their Brazilian counterparts when they eventually arrived.

However, when three castaways from another ship arrive in the same location months later, they provide a radically different account of what happened in Patagonia.

In a wonderfully crafted piece of narrative nonfiction, Killers of the Flower Moon and The Lost City of Z author David Grann reveals the intricate details of a complex naval drama.

Agrita Chhibber is from Jammu

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